Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Copiapó, Atacama Region, Chile:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Chamonate Airfield (CPO), Copiapó, Atacama Region, Chile would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,284 miles (or 6,895 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between Shaw Air Force Base and Chamonate Airfield, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.

Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Shaw Air Force Base and Chamonate Airfield. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Shaw Air Force Base (SSC):

• In addition to the 363d TRW, Headquarters Ninth Air Force was transferred to Shaw from Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina on 1 September 1954.
• The furthest airport from Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,545 miles (18,580 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• By 1980, the advent of reconnaissance satellites made the need for tactical aircraft reconnaissance less and less necessary.
• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• For a brief time, Shaw Field also served as a prisoner-of-war camp.

Facts about Chamonate Airfield (CPO):

• Chamonate Airfield (CPO) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Chamonate Airfield (CPO) is Zhijiang Airport (HJJ), which is nearly antipodal to Chamonate Airfield (meaning Chamonate Airfield is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Zhijiang Airport), and is located 12,425 miles (19,995 kilometers) away in Zhijiang, Hubei, China.
• The closest airport to Chamonate Airfield (CPO) is Chañaral Airport (CNR), which is located 68 miles (109 kilometers) N of CPO.
• In addition to being known as "Chamonate Airfield", other names for CPO include "Chamonate Airfield (Copiapó)" and "Aeródromo Chamonate".
• Because of Chamonate Airfield's relatively low elevation of 954 feet, planes can take off or land at Chamonate Airfield at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.